I'm really thankful that God loves me enough to make sure I'm humbled time and time again. Learning to embrace the experiences that will inevitably humble me has been something I've had plenty of chances to practice lately. I have a choice when my ego is slightly hurt, a bit mangled or even brutally murdered: will I stand my ground cross my arms and grit my teeth? Will I get all bent out of shape and demand that justice be served? Or will I take a deep breath and push the pause button?
My dad shared a great nugget of wisdom with me a few months back about humility. He said, "People humiliate us. God humbles us." Such depth in that, isn't there?
I'm not advocating a victim mentality here. On the contrary! I refuse to refuse to take responsibility for my actions, my thoughts, my sin. When my ego takes a hit I'm given a divine moment to pause and consider how this situation can humble me with God's help. In struggles or setbacks therein lies a tremendous opportunity to grow.
Check out Moses in Numbers chapter 12. He is described this way, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" (Num. 12:3). Whaaat? That's incredible. Now rewind to the book of Exodus and read of Moses killing an Egyptian solider because he thought he'd take matters into his own hands. He was defending his people (the Hebrew people who were still in captivity under the rule of Pharaoh) so he thought. Moses acted with his heart and his head disconnected. Then what did he do? He fled. He got the heck out of town because Pharaoh was out seeking revenge.
Fast forward. Moses had plenty of time to be humbled in the wilderness where he lived for a while. He felt humiliated by his peers and his behavior in Egypt, but God used it to humble him. See? It wasn't until Moses was humbled and pliable that God could then rescue an entire nation through him. I'm of course skipping a lot of crazy events that unfolded in Moses' life between the time he fled Egypt and then again when he returned to bring the boom with God's guidance and power.
So just how did Moses then become the man described as "the most humble person on the face of the earth?" He let God define him- not his failures nor his peers. He knew God was and he wasn't. He became so broken and humbled before God that he even took some convincing even when he heard, "Let's do this" (super-duper paraphrasing here) when staring into the very presence of God in the burning bush. Exodus 3 is crazy awesome, people. Read it!
I'm going to keep letting God humble me even when I feel humiliated. I may not get it on the first, second, or even third try. But, I'm pretty sure God will let me retake that test until I pass.
Today I'm walking in the confidence of who God is and who I am not.
My dad shared a great nugget of wisdom with me a few months back about humility. He said, "People humiliate us. God humbles us." Such depth in that, isn't there?
I'm not advocating a victim mentality here. On the contrary! I refuse to refuse to take responsibility for my actions, my thoughts, my sin. When my ego takes a hit I'm given a divine moment to pause and consider how this situation can humble me with God's help. In struggles or setbacks therein lies a tremendous opportunity to grow.
Check out Moses in Numbers chapter 12. He is described this way, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" (Num. 12:3). Whaaat? That's incredible. Now rewind to the book of Exodus and read of Moses killing an Egyptian solider because he thought he'd take matters into his own hands. He was defending his people (the Hebrew people who were still in captivity under the rule of Pharaoh) so he thought. Moses acted with his heart and his head disconnected. Then what did he do? He fled. He got the heck out of town because Pharaoh was out seeking revenge.
Fast forward. Moses had plenty of time to be humbled in the wilderness where he lived for a while. He felt humiliated by his peers and his behavior in Egypt, but God used it to humble him. See? It wasn't until Moses was humbled and pliable that God could then rescue an entire nation through him. I'm of course skipping a lot of crazy events that unfolded in Moses' life between the time he fled Egypt and then again when he returned to bring the boom with God's guidance and power.
So just how did Moses then become the man described as "the most humble person on the face of the earth?" He let God define him- not his failures nor his peers. He knew God was and he wasn't. He became so broken and humbled before God that he even took some convincing even when he heard, "Let's do this" (super-duper paraphrasing here) when staring into the very presence of God in the burning bush. Exodus 3 is crazy awesome, people. Read it!
I'm going to keep letting God humble me even when I feel humiliated. I may not get it on the first, second, or even third try. But, I'm pretty sure God will let me retake that test until I pass.
Today I'm walking in the confidence of who God is and who I am not.
